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Size exclusion chromatography of alkali-solubilized coal

Conference · · Energy and Fuels; (United States)
OSTI ID:5435656
;  [1]
  1. Idaho National Engineering Lab., Idaho Falls (USA)

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in finding microorganisms that are able to degrade coal. An easy method that can be used to screen for such organisms is to grow them on water-solubilized coals and, using size exclusion chromatography (SEC), determine if resulting coals have a reduced molecular weight (MW). Unfortunately, there are many difficulties associated with the SEC of biologically treated, solubilized coal molecules. Interactions may be minimized by eluting samples in alkaline solutions containing amines or by using either high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or conventional liquid chromatography (LC) SEC media with aqueous buffers containing Tween 80. Unfortunately, these studies have not eliminated the possibility of reversible binding occurring nor have they determined if solubilized coals are able to interact with growth medium components or microbial metabolites thereby altering the coal's apparent molecular size and shape. In this paper, the authors report optimal conditions for performing SEC of solubilized coal (e.g., SynChropak GPC 300 HPLC column using aqueous buffers at neutral pH's) and that few constituents present in microbial growth media affect these determinations.

DOE Contract Number:
AC07-76ID01570
OSTI ID:
5435656
Report Number(s):
CONF-900802--
Journal Information:
Energy and Fuels; (United States), Journal Name: Energy and Fuels; (United States) Vol. 5:2; ISSN 0887-0624; ISSN ENFUE
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English